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DESCRIPTION OF REGION

             Vercors (Photo: EJ/RAEE)

Geography:The Rhône-Alpes region lies at the natural crossroads of major national and European axes of communication. This situation makes it a region where diversity is the key-word. This geographic, climatic, sociological and cultural puzzle could be a handicap. Rhône-Alpes has made this its great strength. Considered as a symbol of dynamism in the heart of the European Union, the Rhône-Alpes Region is co-founder of the "Four Motors for Europe"which, with Catalonia, Lombardy and Baden-Wurttemberg, works in the university, scientific, economic, sport and cultural fields.
Glaciers in the North-East, lavender in the South... once again, Rhône-Alpes proves that it is a land of contrasts.However, there is a common denominator linking the different territories of the region: the Rhone. The "royal river" runs alongside or crosses the Region's eight Departments ( Ain, Ardèche, Drôme,Isère, Loire,Rhône,Savoie and Haute Savoie). As if to prove the importance of water courses in Rhône-Alpes, six of the region's eight Departments bear the name of the river running through them.
Rhône-Alpes borders French regions (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Languedoc-Roussillon, Auvergne, Bourgogne and Franche-Comté), the Italian regions of Aosta Valley and Piedmont and the Swiss cantons of Vaud, Valais and Geneva.
Half of the region's surface area (49%) consists of predominantly urban zones, compared with the French average of 41%.

                                                                                                                                  Tramway in Lyon,  Photo: SYTRAL/ROBIN

Demography and economy:Rhône-Alpes is one of the regions with the highest birth rates in Europe and its net migration rate is positive. Young people are very much present, and the student population is around 225,000.
It's worth noting that there are 365,000 sites of economic activity in Rhône-Alpes and there are 80,000 active associations. With GDP of more than €145 billion in 2002, Rhône-Alpes produces 9.7% of total French wealth.    
The numerous towns and cities of Rhône-Alpes ensure good interconnection of regional space and the Lyon Metropolitan area is the third-largest in France, after Paris and Marseille.
Similarly, the conurbations of Grenoble and Saint-Étienne both have populations of over 250,000. Five other major towns are scattered over the territory: Annecy, Bourg-en-Bresse, Chambéry, Roanne and Valence. More than half of the territory is at an altitude of over 500 metres and as such is considered to be mountain zone. This particular feature is a fundamental element in the region's character and represents a strong plus factor in its attractiveness. Rhône-Alpes is the only region in France to have glaciers.
An additional piece has to be added to the "puzzle" of Rhône-Alpes: climate. According to meteorologists, there are no fewer than 24 specific climates in our region.

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BASICS ABOUT ENERGY IN THE REGION

                          MERCIER Biogaz Unit in Savoie (Photo:LT/RAEE)
Economic development, innovation and protection of the environment is a major ambition of Rhône-Alpes Region, in charge of solidaritybased development of people and territories. As the leader in the field of economic development, Rhône-Alpes supports the territorial authorities and the socio-economic players who develop policies of preserving natural resources and fighting pollution: restoration of the quality of aquatic environments, prevention and innovation to limit and recover and upgrade wastes, planning and developing energy management and the use of renewable energy, preservation of the diversity of plant and animal species and of natural environments, risk prevention and air quality monitoring, ensuring small and medium businesses take into account their impact on the environment, creating jobs in the field of the environment and raising public awareness.


                                                                                                                Passive nursery, Savoie  ( Photo: EV/RAEE)

The Regional Council has developed its own strategy for GHG observation and GHG reduction but is also associated to most policies developed by local authorities. The Regional Council implements climate protection plans within their policies, in particular through a specific system: Rhône-Alpes local development contracts, which allows targeted actions according to local specificities. The Regional Council is also associated to policies implemented by other local authorities, in particular "départements" (provinces) and associated communes, through either a financial participation or technical cooperation

 

Interaction with other initiatives on regional, national or european level


The Regional Plan Climate Air Energy (SRCAE) of the region Rhône-Alpes was officially launched on December 6th 2010 by the Prefect and the President of Region
The plan bases itself on:

  • A diagnosis on the questions of air quality, renewable energies, greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption and the vulnerability of the territory in Climate changes
  • An exercise of prospective on horizons 2020 and 2050 on these various elements to determine the possible future of the region.
  • The definition of objectives and orientations ensuing from the previous exercises

 

The regional Observatory on Energy and GHG emissions answers the following missions:

  • Gather and produce an information at regional level about the various constituents of the production / consumption of energy and emission, of greenhouse gases. In the request or for certain energy domains, this information can be declined at a finer level (department, town), in partnership with the actors of this geographical level.
  • Assure the connection, the exchange and the coherence of this information between the regional level and the national level.
  • Set up a follow-up of this knowledge with tools and indicators allowing to estimate the impact of the implemented policies.
  • Engage specific studies, including under the shape of forward plannings, on the local energy resources, the needs and the determiners of the consumption.
  • Be a place of exchange of all the information relative to the energy and the greenhouse gases and implement the dissemination of these informations

                                                                                    Carte: OREGES/RAEE

 

Visit the oreges website: www.oreges.rhonealpes.fr

 


Rhône-Alpes region, through the regional energy and environnment agency (RAEE) is also involved in many european project (Interreg, Energy intelligent Europe) on energy efficiency in buildings, on development of renewable energy sources, local transport
More informations

 

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FACTS

Name of Region/Country    Région Rhône-Alpes, France
Address/Contact    1 esplanade François Mitterand,
69269 Lyon Cedex 02 / France

Inhabitants    6 millions
Size (km²)    43 698 km², 8% of France superface
Location    South east of France

 


Lyon is the main city, with more than 1,2 million inhabitants. Grenoble and Saint-Étienne both have populations of over 250,000. Five other major towns are scattered over the territory: Annecy, Bourg-en-Bresse, Chambéry, Roanne and Valence.